


Moves Like Charlie's Angels

by lionessvalenti



Category: Warehouse 13
Genre: Gen, Guns, Male-Female Friendship, Season/Series 03, Yuletide, Yuletide 2011, Yuletide Assignment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 20:33:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/299775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionessvalenti/pseuds/lionessvalenti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claudia accompanies Steve on an early morning trip to the shooting range.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moves Like Charlie's Angels

**Author's Note:**

  * For [minkhollow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/minkhollow/gifts).



> This story takes place in between episodes 3.05 and 3.06. Thank you to lawsontl for beta-reading!

The floorboard creaked loudly under Steve's foot as he stepped into the hallway. He cringed. After trying to be quiet as he showered and dressed, the floorboard was going to give him away. He hesitated, but when there weren't any other sounds, he continued down the hall. He was to the first stair when a door opened behind him.

"Where are you _going_?" Claudia asked. She slumped dramatically against her bedroom door frame. "It's not even six. It's still dark out. And it's Saturday."

Steve turned around. "Did I wake you up? I was trying to be quiet. Do you think I woke up the others?"

Claudia shook her head. Her hair was sticking up all over the place, and she looked so much younger without any makeup on. He smiled at her pajamas: blue pants printed with brightly colored cupcakes and a tank top with a Union Jack across the front.

"You are so not quiet, but after that incident with Oppenheimer's cigarette case, I think it's safe to say that Pete and Myka can sleep through anything. That makes me the only victim of your squeaky sock drawer." She looked him up and down, seeming to wake up a little. "Why are you sneaking out this early anyway?"

"I'm only sneaking because I was trying to be quiet. It's not a secret." He held up his black range bag. "I'm heading to the range."

Claudia blinked at him. "Univille has a shooting range?"

"It's South Dakota, of course there's a shooting range." Steve turned his head to the side and he grinned. "Do you want to come with me? I'll show you how to use a real gun."

"I don't know... I'd rather use my Tesla."

"Yeah, because you get to design your own," he replied, still grinning. He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'll be back in a couple hours."

Claudia tapped her foot against the floor a few times, and then held up her hands. "Give me ten minutes to change my clothes and brush my teeth."

"Great," Steve said. "I'll wait for you downstairs."

When they were on the road, Claudia rubbed her hands over her face. "Ohhh, this is really early," she said. "Why did I say I wanted to do this?"

Steve chuckled. The sky was deep blue, with just a hint of the sunrise to come. "Clearly, I'm the coolest person you know and no matter how little sleep you've had, you want to hang out with me and do everything I do."

"Oh, please, _I'm_ the coolest person _you_ know," Claudia replied. She leaned back against the headrest and sighed. "But on the other hand, you know about everything I'm into. Warehouse stuff, building things, science experiments. We never do anything you want to do. So, guns. I can totally do guns. Guns that hurt people and kill people, aaaaaand I can't believe I just said that."

He smiled. Claudia's ability to put her foot in her mouth was second to none. After so many times, he was starting to find it endearing.

It had only been a couple of weeks since the Civil War reenactment, when he'd shared his history with her. Throughout the years, he tried not to think of Olivia often, even the good times, because it hurt too much. He'd joined the ATF as soon as he was eligible and never looked back. He told himself he was doing it to honor her memory, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to actually talk about her. Not until Claudia reminded him of Olivia so much that he couldn't ignore his past any longer.

He'd taken a week off to go back home and reassess. He was a Warehouse agent now. These weren't just his co-workers. He lived with them. They were more like a family and they welcomed him in as part of it. It was completely different, so maybe it was time to go about everything differently. He'd only been back a few days, but for the first time, it felt like the Warehouse was exactly where he was supposed to be.

"It's okay," Steve said. "I know all about guns, and you're right, they can kill people. But most of the time when they do, they're in the hands of someone who intends to use it that way, or someone who doesn't know how it use it at all. If you know what you're doing, you can protect people and protect yourself."

"Thank you, mister gun safety handbook, but I can do that with a Tesla and never kill anyone," Claudia replied. "When am I going to use a handgun anyway?"

"Probably never -- _hopefully_ never, but it's good to know, just in case. Besides, you're the one who wanted to come."

She hesitated, then held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, maybe you are the coolest person I know, and I want to do everything you do."

Steve laughed as he flipped on his turn signal. "I knew it."

"Don't tell Pete cause he thinks he's the coolest person everyone knows." Claudia sighed. "I'd hate to break his heart."

"Your secret is safe with me."

"So, do you do this a lot? Sneak off in the wee hours of the morning and go all Taxi Driver on the range?"

Steve shrugged. "Sometimes. I like guns. I'm used to using one, and I miss them working in the Warehouse. I mean, I carry it, but that's as far as it goes. I don't want to get rusty, and coming to this range is fun. It helps me clear my head sometimes. Besides, I suck with a Tesla. I think the training coil hates me."

"It can smell your fear," Claudia replied in a loud, raspy whisper, and then she laughed.

The gravel parking lot was empty except for one other car. A cloud of dust still hung in the air, even as they got out of the car, Steve holding his gun case in hand.

"Three basic rules," he said as they walked toward the building. "Always treat a gun like it's loaded, only point the gun at things you intend to shoot, and don't put your finger on the trigger until you're about to shoot."

"Gun's loaded, don't point it at you, no sticky trigger finger," Claudia replied. "Seems easy enough."

Inside, Steve greeted Mitch, who worked the front counter. He signed in for himself and for Claudia, while Mitch handed Claudia a waiver. She looked at for a moment and then grabbed a pen.

"I guess I'm not signing away my soul," she said, scratching her name across the bottom line, followed by the date. "Just my ability to sue the range if I get injured while I'm here."

"Which you won't, so I wouldn't worry about it," Steve assured her. He bought a few basic paper bullseye targets, and rented a second set of gear for Claudia: bright yellow earmuffs and clear plastic safety glasses.

Claudia put the glasses on and glanced at her reflection in the window separating the range from the front area. "These are sexy. I like it. I should get my own pair and wear them all the time."

"Considering our job, maybe you should," he replied as they walked away from the counter. "Some of those artifacts can be pretty dusty. And the sparks coming out of the neutralization bag? Get one of those in your eye, and you'll be blind."

One of the reasons he liked going to range early in the morning, beside the fact that he could usually slip out of the B&B and be back before anyone was the wiser, was that the range was typically empty. He'd been there on a Saturday afternoon, and the building was packed, with people talking loudly and, of course, guns firing.

Getting there when they opened meant having the range to himself, or at least not sharing with too many other people.

Steve unloaded his gun case, and pulled out his own set of safety gear. Claudia picked up his glasses.

"Why do you have yellow ones?"

"They make me look cool," he replied instead of explaining the all the reasoning behind tinted glasses. She'd Google it later. He dropped the magazine and locked the slide back, effectively disabling the gun. He held it up with his right hand, the muzzle pointing downrange. "See how I'm holding it?" he asked. "Finger not on the trigger."

Claudia nodded.

He added his other hand, sandwiching the grip between both of them. "This gives me more stability when I'm aiming and shooting. Always use two hands. I don't care how cool one hand looks in the movies." He brought his arms up, like he was going to shoot. "Check out how I'm standing. Knees bent slightly, leaning forward just a little bit."

"You stand like that during a gun fight?" Claudia asked, one eyebrow raised.

Steve lowered his hands and set the gun down on the shelf, pointing downrange, next to his earmuffs. "I've actually never been in a gun fight. But if you do it often enough, you'll stand like that naturally. You won't even think about it." He stepped to the side so Claudia could have the booth.

"Okay, let's do this," she said, sounding far more confident than her widened eyes let on. She picked up the gun and carefully wrapped her hands around the grip. "Like this?"

Steve inspected her hands and nodded. "It's perfect. Now go ahead and slowly lift your arms and point it downrange."

"And not at you, I remember," Claudia replied. She brought her arms up and glanced over at him. "How's this?"

He reached over and touched the crook of her arm. "Don't lock your elbows, and try to relax your shoulders."

"They are relaxed," she said, shrugging for effect.

Steve rested a hand on each of her shoulders and shook his head, even though she wasn't looking at him. "No, they're not," he said, squeezing them for emphasis.

She wiggled them while continuing to hold her stance. The gun in her hand stayed completely still. "See? They're relaxed. Are you happy now?"

"Much better. How's it feel?"

"Like I'm one of Charlie's Angels," Claudia replied with a grin. "I'm totally Farrah Fawcett."

Steve stepped away from her, and crossed his arms over his chest. "No, you're not. You're Kate Jackson."

Claudia lowered the gun and turned to him. "What, so you can be Farrah? We are not having this discussion."

"No, neither one of us are Farrah. I'm Jaclyn Smith. Did you ever _watch_ Charlie's Angels?" He shook his head in disbelief.

"Not as much as you, apparently," Claudia replied, widening her eyes as she turned back toward the range. She lifted her arms again with good form. She was picking it up quickly.

"The next lesson is trigger-pulling," Steve said. "And by pulling I mean squeezing the trigger with even pressure -- not just with the tip of your finger -- until the gun fires."

"That's how you do it with a Tesla, but without all this other stuff," Claudia said. "I don't know how you find a Tesla harder. It's just zap and go."

"The aim is completely different," he replied. "Don't try to aim this like a Tesla. Aim with the sights, with the target a little bit blurry because your focus is actually on the sight itself. Aim with that, and you'll hit your target. Ready to do this with some ammo?"

She set the gun down and looked at for a moment. Her foot tapped with that same hesitation she'd had before agreeing to come with him. "Yeah, I am. I'm totally ready for this."

He crouched down next to the case and pulled out a couple of magazines. He stood up straight and set them on the shelf before selecting one and loading it into the gun.

"Safety gear," he said, nodding to the rented earmuffs on the shelf. While Claudia adjusted them to fit over her ears, he attached the target to the board and sent it back only about as half as far as he would for himself. He donned his own gear, keeping one of the muffs directly off his ear and motioned for her to do the same.

"There's going to be some recoil," he said, stepping behing her.

"Is it going to throw me back against the wall?" she asked.

He chuckled and shook his head. "No, but it may shake you some. Just relax. And I'm right here, so even if you were thrown back, I'd catch you. Whenever you're ready, Claud, aim with the sights, and breath in slowly, then when you exhale, squeeze the trigger. Even pressure."

"Even pressure," she repeated. She put her earmuff on properly and picked up the gun.

Steve fixed his earmuffs as well, and watched as Claudia adjusted her stance; the slow rise and fall of her chest until finally her finger slipped inside the trigger guard. He wished he could get a look at her face, to see the concentration in her eyes.

The gun fired, and Claudia took a step backward, bumping into Steve. She took a deep breath and fired a couple more rounds. She dropped the gun on the shelf and spun around, her eyes round as dinner plates, and her jaw dropped.

Steve pulled his earmuffs down around his neck so he could hear her as she began to gush.

"That was -- I could _feel_ it when it went off." She pulled off her earmuffs and threw her arms in the air, then rested her hands on top of her head. "That was a rush. Sugar high times a million."

Steve laughed. "That's one way to put it -- hey, look, you hit the target."

"I did?" Claudia turned around, and her hands slipped from her head. "Barely! It's in the corner. It's not anywhere near the bullseye."

"That's better than I did my first time," he replied. He didn't mention that his first time required the target to be further back than he had it set for her. She didn't need to know that.

She faced Steve again, eyebrows arched. "Oh, really? So the student has surpassed the teacher."

Or maybe she did. He dropped his hands on her shoulders and spun her back around. "The student still has much to learn. Take another shot, and try to actually hit one of the rings this time."

"Thanks for the underlying condescension, Obi-Wan," she said, donning the earmuffs. She held her hands over the plastic casing for a moment before picking up the gun again.

Steve stepped back and watched Claudia slowly empty the magazine. She paused between every shot, readjusting her stance, or turning to ask for pointers. It was impressive watching how she got better, whether it was in form or aim, with each attempt.

After she was finished, Steve took his turn with a fresh target. He went through his round considerably faster, without the lessons between the shots. It was a little different from what he was used to, what with Claudia watching him. He usually just fired to clear his mind and hone his skills, but he paid extra careful attention to his aim. He wanted to show off a little.

"Okay, now that I know how hard this is," Claudia said as his target came back to them on the motorized track, "I'm impressed."

"I've done this a million times," Steve replied. He pulled it from the board, and the center rings on the target were shredded. "Or did you think I got into the ATF on my good looks alone?"

"If anyone could do it, it'd be you, Jinksy."

They continued to take turns, and while it wasn't the stress relief Steve usually found in a trip to the range, it was still relaxing. He liked spending the time together. No artifacts or Artie buzzing them on the Farnsworth; just two friends hanging out.

Though it was too cheesy to admit out loud, even he didn't think Claudia wouldn't tease him for it, he liked it that she was learning how to do this. There were situations out there she wouldn't be able to hack her way out of. He hoped she would never need it, but he felt strangely comforted knowing that she could hold her own if she did. Not that he'd ever doubt Claudia's ability to hold her own, but if he'd learned anything about the life of a Warehouse agent, it was that everything is unpredictable.

"So is this what you do when you don't feel like meditating?" Claudia asked as Steve started packing up the range bag. He glanced up at her, the bright yellow earmuffs dangling from her fingers. She was still wearing the glasses. Now Steve knew what to get her for Christmas.

"Sometimes, but it's a different kind of clearing of the mind. But the objective is the same. Here, this is yours." He handed Claudia her paper target. "You can toss or keep it if you want."

"I'm going to keep it," she said, holding the sheet out and inspecting her work. "I'll put it up on my wall and after I die, generations of Warehouse agents will look in my room and say, 'Wow, that Claudia was a really bad shot'."

He laughed as he packed up the last of his gear. "Maybe you should write 'It was my first time, okay?' across the bottom. So they won't judge you too harshly. You did really well for someone who'd never fired a gun before."

"Well, at least I don't have fifty packs of cigarettes stashed in my dresser," she replied, and Steve didn't even ask what she was referring to. If it was a Warehouse story, then it would be a long one.

The sun was fully up when they walked out of the building, but the air was still morning-cool against Steve's skin. He glanced over at Claudia. "And the verdict is?"

"It was fun," she replied. "I'm sticking to the Tesla for daily use, but I see the appeal of coming down here and getting all rage against the machine on defenseless paper targets. It's a big time stress reliever." She bumped her shoulder into his arm. "You're a good teacher, you know that?"

"It helps that you're a good student," he said, pulling his keys from his jeans pocket. He pressed the button to unlock the car. "Do you pick up everything that easily?"

She shrugged. "Not social skills."

He laughed and walked around to the driver's side of the car. "I think you're getting better at those, too."

Claudia opened the passenger side door and slipped into the car. "You know, when I first thought about having a gay friend, I thought there'd be a lot more shoe shopping than gun ranges."

Steve, who had been placing his gun case in the backseat, glanced up at her. "I can go find you some better gay friends if you'd like." He ducked out of the car and closed the door. He got into the front seat, and Claudia was smirking at him.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing. This could someday be useful and a trip to the mall? Not so much." Claudia paused. Her smirk had melted into a genuine smile. "Besides, you wear boots, and I wear Converse. What else do we need?"

"We're functional," he said.

"And fabulous," she added.

"That goes without saying."

Claudia grinned. "I'm glad you got to be my junior agent."

"Me too," Steve replied, definitely certain that this was where he was supposed to be. This was home now. He wondered if everyone had to figure it out slowly, that the Warehouse was their place. "You want to go get some breakfast? Greasy diner fare?"

"Hellz to the yeah," Claudia said. She pointed a finger at him. "You're buying."

Steve grinned and started the car. "Of course I am," he said, but he was happy to pay.

They pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the center of town. They'd only been on the road a minute when Claudia asked, "Since you're the expert, who on the team is Farrah Fawcett?"

"Pete," Steve replied without hesitation, and Claudia's laughter filled the car.


End file.
